The minivan pulled up next to a nondescript mid '80s sedan that had a faded Atheist Against Abortion bumper sticker applied to the rear bumper. The decal was old and weathered and was probably put there 4 or 5 owners ago.
From the passenger side of the van a man short for his weight opened the door and then gingerly stepped out onto the asphalt, as if he was dealing with Plantar Fasciitis or some such malady.
He walked gingerly toward a large roll-off dumpster where two men were standing next to a chair. In the chair sat a man who looked to be at least twenty years older than everyone else present in the lot at the rear of the large warehouse.
The driver of the minivan, who looked to be the youngest of the group, followed his passenger, deliberately slowing his pace as to ensure he could not overtake him.
The short, heavy-set man walked delicately up to the man seated in the chair. The man in the chair looked up as he approached but made no movements of his own, primarily because he had been secured to the chair with ropes that were wrapped around all of his limbs.
The short, heavy-set man looked down at the older man in the chair and asked, "Have you decided to tell us what we want to know Mr. DeCamps? From the look of your face I would say Mr. Marcora and Mr. Uchida have certainly made it clear we will stop at nothing to get that information."
The man bound to the chair closed his eyes momentarily before answering. "You can torture me all you want Kachmazov, there is is no way in hell I'm telling you anything."
"Torture you, Mr. DeCamps? These two gentlemen have but administered a beating. That is not torture, let me assure you of that".
The short heavy-set man turned toward the man who had driven him to the site. "Daniel, did you bring my case with you?"
"Yes, Mr Kachmazov, here it is". The Short, heavy-set man took the small black case from Daniel and unzipped it along three sides, then flipped it open. Sitting in a pre-cut foam block lay a small handgun, a SIG Sauer P365 9mm.
Kachmazov looked at the gun, then turned his head to look back at the seated Mr. DeCamps. He cleared his throat after a few moments of silence and said. "Torture...is a filthy business Mr. DeCamps, it's despicable, really. Undignified for all involved - the tortured as well as the torturer."
The seated man spit angrily onto the hot asphalt of the parking lot. "Screw you, do your worst. I'm not go...". The shot rang out before Mr. Decamps could finish his statement.
The four men watched in silence as Mr. Decamps now-lifeless body slumped over in the chair.
"Wow Catch, what the hell did you shoot him for? Mr. Pospisil is going to be pissed we didn't get the info."
"Well, DeCamps wasn't going to talk - men of his generation never do, they are a different breed. It would be a waste of our time and energy to try to make him. Mr. Pospisil understands that. We need to grab a younger member of the cabal, someone like Daniel here - his generation cracks if you breath heavy on 'em - no offense, Daniel.
"No offense taken sir."
"Good. Al, you and Zubie get DeCamps into the back of the van and take him to the crematorium. Jade will be there for at least another hour - she'll bake him and give you the ashes to take to Mr. Pospisil. Make sure you take him DeCamps wallet and all his jewelry too - Mr Pospisil is a stickler for that. Daniel and I will take the sedan, have to make a few more stops. We'll meet up with you at Pops place around 7:00, see if he has anything else for us to do tonight".
Al handed Daniel the keys to the nondescript mid '80s sedan and took the keys to the minivan from him. Zubie quietly joined him and they both lifted the chair holding the deceased Mr. DeCamps and carried it over to the rear of the minivan.
Daniel walked over to the rear of the sedan and popped the trunk. Inside were two half gallon rectangular metal cans of mineral spirits. He walked over to the spot where Mr. DeCamps had been sitting with one of the cans, opened it and poured a small stream of the contents onto the asphalt where Mr DeCamps blood had pooled.
Kachmazov smiled as Daniel performed this task and thought to himself that he had taught the kid well - he watched patiently as the kid followed the trail of small blood drops to the back of the minivan and poured a little of the mineral spirits on each and everyone of them.
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